Apparatus for heating rooms



Original Filed Oor.. 16. 19,29

` W. L. MACK APPARATUS FOR HEATING ROOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 13; w. L.. MACK 4'1,890,521 APPARATUS FOR HEATING Rooms` Original Filed Oct. 16. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 9@ INVENTOR ATTORNEYS i -i This'inventioli relatesltolheating, especially v "l the heating of the rooms" tof houses, apart-V PATENT OFFICEI i ments, `otiices. stores, and sowforth. It is one of 'thefobjects of Ithefinvention to accomplish the heatingfoflsuch ,plac'esbyf directing the heating eortfprimarilyto.thatportion o'a f froom whichis-mostjin need of beingheated7 ywthatfis, the `lower"portionof a room. It is a ...currents alone'.` fif i i. I

A furtherfobject ofthe invention is the-` productionofsuitableapparatus for carrying ioit the foregoing objects'whichshall be simple and `compactin` construction, clean and l efectiyeinYoperationfand which will not y, if, `readily get `out "of: order, =in one form, the c invention being sufficiently compact so that i y it is'possibleto installit between the adjacent further object `ofthe invention to" distribute V i of theflower` portionof` `theroom andfat the same timeutodo soin suclra manner that lthere will be nomarked drafts of either hot f `o'rcold air orjany rapid movement of the air `of a disagreeable or evenof a noticeable characten` It isalso `an object of the invention `to'ds.tributi-itheihe'atpositively and definitely `asl` distinguished fromi Vthe usual dependence i 'uponthenncertain fresults "of heatdistributhe heat over the fwhole orga substantial part `tion `trom radiation *and natural convection studs ofanordinary walland between the floor and irstcrossbridging. A still :further object` jof the invention `istoobtain separatei and effective controlj of theheating of each "room "sol that when the apparatus is put into 2 operation the lfullheating effect may be ob- ]tained practically.instantaneously and "the p operation oftheappai-atusfor each particuflar room mayhem accordance with the needs I`-In order tomore clearlyexplain the invention, reference is madetothe following devscription, taken Min connection with the acpcompanyingdrawings showing certain strucvtural featureswof 1the invention, and in which Fig. `las a persplectivevmw of a heating devlce.shown` in` posltionlbetwcen adjacent studs inlthewall` of a room;

fFigQ is a"front,elcvationcfthe heater of iFig. lfwiththe@enclosing.panel removed to .50

show the, interior oi'` the` heating device;

TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION F DELA- f nrrenarns FOR HEATING Rooms V c alipiiation"altafctober "16,1529, serial No. 400,018. Renewed october 28,1931.

-Fig. 3 isa side elevation of the heating device of Fig. 1 partly broken' away; A

Fig. 4 .is a front elevation similar to Fig. 2 of a somewhat diiierent form of heating device; Y

y Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the control valve of Fig. 2 drawn to an enlarged scale;

Fig. 6 is a perspective detailed View showing the arrangement of the dampers; Fig. 7 is a sectional front elevation of the heating element taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3; i

Fig. 8 is a sectional side elevation ofthe heating` element taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2; i

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic sketch indicating the approximate course taken by the air currents; and

` I WAri'rEit3L.Miroir,oTonEnoQoHIo, AssIGNoR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro AIR-WAY Y .y y, ELECTRIQ ePPLIaNcjE coRPoRATIoN, oF

Fig. l0 is a diagrammatic sketch indicate A Y ing the approximate course taken by the air currents with a somewhat different type of heater. f

VThe reference character Qlindicates a circulation box or compartment in which is positioned a heater 22 of some suitable type. As shownin Figs. 2, 7 and 8, this heater comprises a chamber Q3 for steam7 hot water, or other heating medium which chamber has a plurality. of outwardly extending fins 24. lying in vertical planes and preferably parallel with the smaller dimension of the chamber 23, i. e., extending from the front to the back of the compartment 2l. The front and rear walls of the chamber 23 may be connected with reinforcing braces 23a. It is very desirable. in many instances, that the heating device be out of the way as much as possible, and for this purpose the width may be suliciently narrow so that it can be placed between adjacent studs 25 and 26 of the w-all of a room as shown in Fig. 1, and the height may be sutiiciently low so that it may be placed between the fioor 2T and the first cross bridging If installed in a wall the thickness of the heater should not be greater than the thickness of the walls, a common dimension heilig four inches as the studs 25 and 26 are usually 2 x l. At the upper portion of the box 21 there may be provided a discharge orifice Q9, which is shown as sub- *Y c divided intor a plurality ofgopenings. At the lower'portion'of the circulation box'2l thereY lmay be providedan inletorifice 30 which is onthe room side ofthe heating device, and there 'mayfalso be provided Yan inlet Vorifice Y. 31-which1connects with asource of Yfresh air such asthe outside atmosphereiffthe heater 'isinstalled in the outside wall oflav room. .c A suitable blower32` is positioned inthe circulationbox 2l under the heaterV 22 andV `vbetween the twoinlet lorifices 302and31. The

blower may be of a centrifugal typeghaving *i* Y radially extending vanes 33 which drive the 1 air upwardly and outwardly through Va passage Y34. The airpassesover the surfacefof the chamber 23 and the 24 andV out,

' through the discharge orifice 29,'the shapel of the circulation box "directing the discharged air in a substantially horizontal direction.

The blower may draw the air through an -inletf duct 35fopposite the rinletorifice -30 open Vi'ng'into the room or it may draw air through an inlet duct `36 opposite the inletk orifice 31 Vwhich supplies fresh air. Dampers 37 and 38 may be provided for lcontrolling the amount of air passing into .the orifices 30 and 31 respectively. The dampers are preferably controlled together in such a manner that opening one operates to close the other. VFor this purpose a transverse shaft 39 may be provided suitably journalled in the frame of kthe blower 32 and in the frame of the circula tion box 2l, and may have a damper-control knob 40. The dampers 37 and 38 are secured to the shaft 39 at different angular positions so that one will be'open when the other is closedA and vice versa. As shown in Figs. 2

and 3, the damper 37. controlling the inlet orifice 'is closed and the damper 38 controlling the inlet orifice 3l is open. Byy turning the damper-control knob 40 clockwise, the damper 37 is gradually opened, while the damper 38 is being closed. The blower 32 may be driven by an electric motor 4l pro'- vided'with a driving pulley 42 and driving through a belt 43 a pulley 44 secured to the shaft of the blower 32.` Instead of a belt. drive the motor may, if desired, be directly trolled valve may be placed'in the supply Vpipe 53 to control the supply of heating fluid. The valve 55 has an inlet opening at 56 (Fig. 5) and an outlet opening at 57 and a passage "--rteear 53therebetween.'r valve seat 59 is provided vat the passage V53 and is VVclosed by a valve disc V carried byavalve rod 6lof iron orA other suitablegma'gnetici-material..V The upper end of the valve 55mayv be surrounded by an op- .P erating coil or solenoid 62 and rests'against a shoulder 63 on thevalve bodyV and is -held in place by a cap 64. A compression spring 65 ispositioned between the valve rod Gland the cap'f 64 and tends to hold the valve "disc 60 against its' seat 59. lVhen energized, the coil f or solenoid 62 draws the valve rod'61, Vwhich acts as amagnetic plunger, upwardly and.

opens the valve., In'the form Vof valve just described the solenoidis energized during the whole time that the valve is open and should beso designed as to require verylittle energy for its excitation. In place of the valve shownrother valves may, if desired, be employed which do not require current continuously but only during they period of vopening andof closing. Y Vhile the valve 55 is shown near the heating device it is to be understood thatitjm/a'ybe vplaced,'ifV desired,pso1ne distance away as in the basement of the house or Y elsewhere, Also the 'projections 5l and 52 may lextend downwardfrom the chamber 23 instead of laterally therefromin which case the electrically controlled valve 55 may be in thelower part of the circulation box 2l with the blower or it may be placed outside of the box and at some distance away.

The electric motor 4l for the blower is supplied with electrical energy by means of conductors66 and 67. The electric valve-55 receives its energy through conductors 68 and 69 whichmay, if desired, be connected -to the conductors 66 and 67 so as to be simultaneously energized therewith or the conductors 68and 69 to the valve 55 may be independently controlled. A manually controlled switch is indicated at 70, but it is to be understood that a thermostatically controlled switch may be employed so that the heating device starts and stops automatically in accordance with the temperature of the room being heated. While the steam supply has been shown as being simultaneously controlled with the operation of the blower, it may be possible to omit the electrically controlled steam valve control in certain cases. This is because the amount of heat carried into the room is many times greater when the forced circulation is taking place than when the blower is not running, so that the mere stopping ofthe blower also stops the heating for most practical purposes. Y A

In the form of heating device shown in Fig. 4 the heating is donc by means of electrical energy supplied to an electric heater 22a through conductors 68a and 69a.

' In the operation of b'oth forms of heating devices Vshown in the drawings, the air is drawn into the inlet orifice 30 or 3l, is drawn upwardly andover the heater7 and is discharged out through the discharge orifice 29'. The circulation box is so shaped, as by being curved as indicated at 71, assisted in some ases b an overhanging lip 71a, that the 'air is disc arged in a substantially horizontal direction. 'This horizontal type of discharge is oneof the important features of the invention and should be at a velocity suiciently at to carry the air well into the room. A eater which depends upon circulation from the natural convection currents, moves the air chiefly or to a large extent in a vertical direction. With the present invention, however, the air is discharged ina substantially horizontal direction at a velocity which is considerably in excess of the velocities due to con'- vection currents. The heated air therefore passes more in a horizontal direction, al-

though the initial horizontal component of the velocity gradually decreases in amount, and the upward tendency currents continues to perslst until the heated air has fully mingled with the rest of the air in the room. In this way the upward move# ment of the heated air becomes relatively ter as the air passes across the room with t e result that the movement which is initially almost altogether in a horizontaldirection finally becomes almost altogether" an upward movement. This is illustrated by the arrows A in Fig. 9. The heater is preferably located in the outside wall of a room and may be under a window`72. The air which is cooled by passinor over the cool wall or which leaks throu l1 the window passes downward as at (landg unites with the stream of air discharg ing from the heating device. f

Another feature of the invention which isV important is the principle of using a rela- .tively large quantity o air and `raising its temperature only a little as distinguished from heating a relatively small quantity of air to a temperature much above that of the room. The use of a large quant-ity of air at a temperature which does not d'ffer too greatly from the average temperature of the room which is being heated eliminates the sensation of undue heat being experienced by those in the room. `The elimination of sensations of uneven heatin or drafts is also promoted by keeping the dlscharge velocity down to a relatively low value although it should be sucient to carry the air well into the room in a substantially horizontal direction. The direction of the inlet air is indicated by the arrows B in Fig. 9. It will be observed that, in this figure, the air is drawn principally from. close to the iioor with a gradually increasing tendency to draw air from the sides instead of from directly in front of the inlet orifice. In order to give anfapproximate idea of relative proportions, the heater in Fig. 9 is shown as being positioned under a window 72. The level in the 'room at which air is breathed is of considerafrom convection orifices 80a and 31a at the upper portion ofl the box and a discharge orifice 29a at the lower portion of the box. With such an arrangement the air is drawn in as indicated by the arrows B and discharged in a substantially horizontal direction along the fioor 27 as indicated by the arrows A, a curved portion 71a of the circulation box directing lthe air as desired.

In the foregoing description, the heating device has been described as being installed in the Wall of a room, but it is not necessarily confined to such a type of installation. The heater maybe of a portable type, particularly when built as Van electrical heater. It

may be installed in the space provided for an open fire place, under a bookcase, or in some instances, away from the wall of a room. It is very effective in distributing the heat across the lower portion of a room which is just the place where heat is required, and by keeping the circulating air below the breathing line and by raising its temperature only moderately there are 11o noticeable 'currents of air produced even a short d'stance away from the heating device. Furthermore, by producing a positive flow of air over the surface of the heater it is possible to make it Amuchsinaller and lighter and more compact,

a heater constructed in accordance with the present invention frequently being found capable of doing as much heating asa standard radiator of many times its weight.

Another advantage of the invention which should' be mentioned is that the outward horizontal direction ofthe discharged air has but little tendency to discolor the walls, draperies, etc., above the heater, a tendency which is very marked in many other types of heatersand which frequently governs the choice of location of theheater which might otherwise be more effectively situated for its primary function, that of heating. The individual control of the heating of each room which is yan inherent part of the inventionA makes it possible to control the heatk so as to give perfect heating for each and every room regardless of any variation in heating requirements for different rooms. Also, as theamount of heating is chiefiy dependent on the operation of the blower which can be started and stopped promptlv,'the heating is under almost perfect contro It is to be' understood that the herein before .described embodiments of the invention are for the purpose of illustration only and various changes may be made therein a secondrinlet orifice in the region of the aforesa1d orifice and connected with a source of fresh air, dampers for said inlet orifices, meansf-for simultaneously operating said dampers whereby one is being opened while the other is'being closed, said dampers being mounted on a common horizontal shaft and adapted to move in a. vertically arcuate di-V rection, a heat exchanger positioned within said boxv between the discharge orifice and the inlet orifices,` and means positioned with- J in said `box for producing a forced circ-ulation of air from the inlet orifices, over the surface of the heat exchanger and out of the discharge orifice.

V2. A heatexchange device comprising a circulation box, a discharge orifice for discharging heated air in'to the room to be heated, an inlet orifice one of said orifices being positioned in the upper, and the other in the lower region ofthe box, a circulating fluid heat exchanger positioned within the box between said orifices, an air circulating device positioned within said box for producing a forced circulation of air into the inlet orifice, over the surface of the heat exchanger and out of the discharge orifice, an electric motor for driving said air circulating device, elecl trically operated control means for supplying fluid to said heat exchanger, and means .for

starting the operation of said motor and said control means simultaneously.

Y 3.` A heat exchange device adapted for installation within the wall of an ordinary room comprising va circulation box of less w'zdth than the space between the adjacent wall studs, a discharge orifice Afor discharging heated air into the room to be heated,l an

inlet-orifice one of said orifices being'positioned in the upper, and the other in the lower region of the box, a fluid chamber positioned between said orifices and having an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, a 'plurality of fins extending from said chamberY substantially verticallyand at right angles to'th plane of the wall, an electrically controlled valve in said inlet pipe, a motor driven rair circulating device for drawing air into the inlet orifice, over the surface of theY chamber and fins'and out of the discharge orifice, and means for simultaneously supplying said motor and said valve with electrical energy for operation.

4. Aheat exchange device adapted for installation within the wall of an ordinary room comprising a circulation box of less width than the space between`the adjacent wall studs, adischarge orifice positioned atV the upperportion of said box for discharging heated air into the room to be heated, an ining from said chamber substantially vertically and at rightangles to the plane of the wall, an electrically controlled valve in said inlet pipe, a motor driven air circulating device for drawin air into the inlet orifices, over the surface of t e chamber and .fins and out of the discharge orifice, and means for simul taneously supplying said motor and said valve with electrical energy for operation.

5. A heat transfer device comprising a circulaton box, a discharge orifice for discharging air into a room,an inlet orifice one of said orifices being positioned 'in the upper, and

the other in the lower region of the box,'a circulatng fluid heat exchanger positioned within the box between said orifices, means positioned within said box for producing a forced circulation of air into the inlet orifice over the surface of the heat exchanger and out of the discharge orifice, an electrically operated valve for controlling the supply of fluid to said heat exchanger, and means for simultaneously starting the operation of the circulating'means and opening said valve.

Signed by me this 14th ,day of October,

`WALTER L. MACK.,v 

